


Angel With A Longbow

by singergurl91



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-03-08 11:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3208280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singergurl91/pseuds/singergurl91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Marianna Trevelyan's mother sent her to the Conclave at Haven to bring her mage sister Rhiannon home, she never expected to become embroiled in the Mage/Templar war, much less become a member of the newly founded Inquisition.  Over their months in Haven, she and Rhia overcome the shadows of their past, while dealing with the issues of the present.  The sister's reunion is bolstered by the new companions they meet, and the bonds they create within the Inquisition.  But everything is tested when Corypheus attacks Haven, and from that moment on, everything will change.</p><p>Slight AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basically the brainchild of the idea "Why not recruit both the mages and the templars?" In my head, I figured the best way to do that was to take my originally canon Inquisitor Rhiannon Trevelyan and give her a sister, Marianna Trevelyan. Well, a lot of things have changed since the first idea popped into my head and...well, you'll see when I get there. (Their cousin, Adrian Trevelyan, Inquisitor of iamthewindything.tumblr,com will show up once they've established the Inquisition in Skyhold and that's when the REAL fun begins.) And if you want to check out what Rhia, Mari and Adrian look like, head over to singergurl91.tumblr.com/tagged/inquisition-au-family.

_“Bring your sister home safe.  I cannot lose her again, my dear one.”_

Marianna remembered the words her mother made her swear to when she left home weeks before.  Ostwick was a long ways away from the Temple of Sacred Ashes in the Frostback Mountains and Mari was determined to reach it before the Conclave began.

_Get in, get Rhia, get out and get home.  Get in, get Rhia, get out and get home._

That mantra she repeated to herself constantly since she arrived in Ferelden days earlier.  She was able to buy passage, riding in the back of carts most of the way to the Temple, but now she was trekking through the snow and ice up towards the mountain town of Haven.

When Divine Justinia had called for the Conclave earlier in the year, Mari had suspected that Rhia would be there with the rest of the former Circle of Ostwick.  Sharing her suspicions with her parents, they urged her to go and bring her sister back home for the duration of the Mage Templar war.  Their title and connection to the Teyrn of Ostwick would help to protect her if any attempted to attack the Trevelyan manor.

A biting wind rustled through the trees and Mari shivered, wrapping her cloak around her tighter.  _Damn this weather_ , she thought to herself.  The scarf she had twisted around the lower half of her face and the top of her head barely did anything to stop the freezing air from reaching her skin.  Stumbling in the snow, she cursed again under her breath.

In the distance coming from behind her, she heard the rickety rumble of a horse and cart.  She stopped walking and turned to see a young man with blond hair driving a cart filled with goods.  A merchant on his way to Haven, she assumed since there was no other route to the mountain town.

“Need a lift lass?” his deep voice held a gruffness that didn’t seem to fit his face, but it wasn’t unkind.

Mari nodded and the merchant patted the seat next to him.  She climbed up gracefully placing her longbow at their feet.  He snapped the reins and the horse began moving again at a slow trot.  Time passed in silence for a few minutes before the merchant felt the need to speak.

“Name’s Seggrit.  You on your way to Haven as well lass?” he asked.

“Yeah.  My sister is supposed to be at the Conclave.  I’m bringing her home with me.” Mari explained shortly, avoiding the significant detail that her sister was a mage.

Seggrit nodded solemnly.  “This war’s gotta end soon.  It’s tearing the world apart.  Let’s hope our dear Divine can end things before they escalate.”  Mari nodded, eyes searching through the trees for signs of civilization.  She barely noticed when Seggrit began speaking again.

“I’m guessing you aren’t from Ferelden, are ya?”  Mari shook her head and the merchant continued.  “Figured not.  Don’t sound Ferelden anyways.  Sound more like a Marcher, but you look Antivan.”

“Rivaini,” Mari corrected.  “But you’re right about me being a Marcher.  I’m from Ostwick, but I resemble my father more than my mum.”  

Seggrit shook his head.  “Never understood why people wanna marry into other countries.  Too many differences for my taste.”

Before Mari could get a word in edgewise to defend her family, a blinding burst of green light lit up the sky and a tremor rocked the earth below Seggrit’s cart.  Once she could see again, Mari’s retort died on her lips as she looked up to see the sky raining green balls of flame down upon the mountainside.  And one of them was headed straight for the cart they were sitting on. 

Quickly grabbing her bow, she grabbed Seggrit and launched off the cart moments before whatever had fallen from the sky pulverized where they had just been sitting.  Seggrit landed roughly, cursing into the snow, but Mari used the momentum to roll and draw an arrow before ending in a crouch, aiming at whatever landed on the cart.  At first, it seemed like it had just been a firebomb from the sky, but moments later a shade materialized from the wreckage.

Without hesitation, Mari drew her arrow back and hit it square in the eye.  The shade disintegrated quickly and her arrow fell to the ground.  Running forward and grabbing the arrow, she made towards Haven as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring the laments of the merchant she left behind.  She pitied him for the loss of his goods, but more important matters lay before her now as she ran towards Haven.

The trees were too thick to see through for miles.  But Mari continued to run, only stopping to kill what shades and wraiths appeared before her as the sky continued raining green fire upon the earth.  When she could barely run any longer, the forest thinned out and she saw a small town surrounded by a wall.   _Haven_ , she thought to herself.   _Thank the Maker_.  Pushing forward with a last burst of speed, she exited the forest and found the outskirts of Haven bustling with hundreds of people and finally heard the screams of panic.  

Wondering what had happened, Mari looked to the people.  She pulled aside a young man, a soldier from Ferelden by the look of him and asked "What happened?  Where is the Temple of Sacred Ashes?"

The young man's face shifted from fear to sorrow as he shook his head and pointed towards the mountains to the west.  Mari looked in the direction he guided her. 

And the sky above the mountains was torn open.

Shock caused Mari’s mouth to gape as she stopped running and tried to process what had happened.  A sickly green hole floated in the sky above the mountain ridge and sporadically rained down green balls of flame like the ones that had just destroyed the merchant’s cart and sent beings from the Fade into the living world.  Gazing back down to Haven, she saw more people rushing around, some carrying the wounded, others helping put on armor and weapons and rushing towards the pass to the mountains.

Passing by tents outside the town walls, still in shock, she heard various snippets of conversations, but nothing that gave her any clue as to what had happened to cause such a tear in the Veil.  But one of the minor Chantry clerics that were running around started crying out “Divine Justinia is dead!  Everyone at the Conclave is dead!”

And Mari’s heart stopped.

“No,” she breathed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it wasn't planned this way, but I feel like I'm gonna be writing this story from multiple POV's. For sure, I know Mari, Cullen, Rhia and Adrian (later) are all going to be POV characters, though I'm sure Cassandra will become one as well. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! It's my first time ever writing Cullen!

If Cullen was asked to describe Haven in the moments after the explosion at the Conclave, he would have immediately said chaos.

Chaos and terror in equal measure, to be quite honest.

Luckily, Commander Cullen was not unfamiliar with both of these states and was able to keep a cool head.  In moments, he had separated recruits into different factions.  Knight Captain Rylen was to lead a group of former Templars up as close as they could get to the Breach.  They all had experience fighting demons before, and it was smarter than sending the rawest of recruits up the mountain.  Those who had just volunteered or been conscripted were separated into even smaller groups.  Some supported the wounded and brought them to tents where mages were at the ready to heal the most grievous of wounds.  Another group set up a small triage center where they set broken bones and sewed up smaller injuries, taking care of non-life threatening situations.

Cullen watched from afar as he saw the Right and Left Hands of the Divine lead a group of soldiers towards the Chantry.  The soldiers were carrying an unconscious young woman and shortly after they disappeared inside, rumors began to fill Haven.  He only ever heard snippets of conversation.

“…that girl…only survivor…”

“...Justinia dead…”

“…damned mages…”

He tried to pay the comments no mind, helping wounded soldiers to the appropriate tents, directing others with lyrium potions towards the healing mages, shaking away the apprehension of seeing that white-blue liquid sloshing in its container.  He’d only stopped taking lyrium a month before, but the withdrawal symptoms were starting to kick in sooner than he had imagined.  Staying still for too long caused his hands to begin to shake and he forced himself to move and help a wounded cleric to the triage center.

“Divine Justinia is dead!  Everyone at the Conclave is dead!”

Cullen turned to see a Chantry cleric running around, screaming at the top of his lungs.  Moving towards him, he recognized the cleric as Roderick, an easily panicked older man who was in the upper echelon of Divine Justinia V’s circle of trusted advisors.  Cullen sighed, a frosted breath escaping his lips.  Roderick annoyed him to no end, and to have him screaming and adding to the already high level of fear would do nothing to calm the already high tensions. 

Roderick was just running him past him when he reached out to grab the cleric’s collar, cutting him off, mid-scream.  The slight choking noise he made caused Cullen to almost smile in amusement. 

But now wasn’t the time for mirth.  It was the time for action.

While Roderick was spluttering and trying to regain his faculties, Cullen pulled him dangerously close to his face.  “I understand that you’re afraid.  Look around you.  Everyone else is just as terrified as you are.  You’re not helping with your fear mongering.”  The cleric’s face started to turn red, bristling at Cullen’s words, but kept silent.  “Now if you want to do something to help,” Cullen growled, “I need someone who’s good at organization and can help these soldiers establish a forward camp just in front of the wreckage of the temple.  Can you pull yourself together long enough for that?” 

Roderick nodded his silent assent and Cullen let go.  Barking out a few quick orders to some of his men that weren’t grievously injured, they saluted crisply and began to march up the mountain, a silent Roderick following them compliantly. 

Cullen sighed, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension building there.  Sometimes it worked, but not today.  He sighed again and turned to a young soldier he knew could hold down the medical area and instructed him to keep bringing the injured to the healers and keeping the mages’ supply of lyrium constant.  The soldier saluted and Cullen called to a group of soldiers whose wounds had recently been healed.  He was intending to follow the others up the mountain to help establish the forward camp.

They were suddenly cut off by a figure in a dark cloak who rushed towards the mountain pass.  Cullen didn’t recognize the figure as one of his own, and moved to intercept them.  So quickly it barely registered, the figure shifted to his left and made to evade the former Templar.  But even though the figure was fast, Cullen’s reflexes were just as sharp as ever.  He shifted again until he was in front of the figure and gripped at their shoulders.  A cursory glance told him that the figure was an archer and the only part of their face that was showing beneath the headscarf they bore were their eyes.

Startled, the archer let out a small ‘oof’ as they ran into Cullen’s chest plate.   Immediately after they realized that Cullen had them in his grasp, they started trying to break free of his grip and screamed.

“Let go of me you bastard!” she cried out, for it was a woman’s voice that came from the headscarf.  Continuing her futile attempt to wriggle out of Cullen’s grip, she continued by trying to claw at his face, screaming.  “I have to find my sister.  She can’t be dead!  She can’t, she can’t, she can’t!”

“Calm down!  We can help you find her, but you have to calm down first.” Cullen insisted.  In her hysterics, her scarf loosened and fell so that Cullen was finally able to see this banshee of a woman’s face.  And he was immediately struck dumb.

She was striking; not what anyone would call a classic beauty, but she was beautiful in her own way.  Her face was extremely angular; her high prominent cheekbones were accentuated by a long straight nose and wide forehead.  Her mouth was twisted into a grimace, but he could tell her mouth had a natural downward turn at the corners when she wasn’t in duress.  She also had the look of someone from Rivain or Antiva with her darker complexion.  Long dark auburn hair was braided and twisted into a knot at the base of her neck and piercing blue eyes lined with kohl and accentuated by a small tattoo on the left side, stared up at him.

Sensing he was distracted, she swiped at his face again, her nails just barely scratching his face.  “Let go of me!” she cried out again.

Cullen growled softly, cursing himself in his head.  “Not before you calm down.”  The woman glowered up at him, but stopped writhing in his grasp.  “Good.  Now, what is your name and who is your sister?  Why was she here?”  He still kept his hands on her upper arms, trying to keep her from swiping at his face again (which began to sting from where she had scratched him).

Taking a deep breath the woman answered.  “I’m Marianna Trevelyan of Ostwick.  My sister is Rhiannon.  She…” The woman…Marianna hesitated before continuing.  “My sister was a representative of the Ostwick Circle and she was supposed to be at the Conclave.  I’m supposed to bring her home.”  Her voice broke as he could see her physically fight back the tears in her eyes.  She continued in a whisper, “I can’t go home without her.”

Cullen could hear the desperation in her voice, probably because she had heard Roderick’s ranting about the deaths at the Conclave.  He didn’t know how to comfort her, so he decided to go with what he knew to be true.  “We don’t know who all survived the explosion, if anyone.  All you can do is pray to the Maker that she still lives.”

Marianna looked up at him again, a snarl forming on her face as she pushed out of his grip.  “No.  She can’t be dead.  I would know if she were dead.”  She shook her head and looked up towards the Breach.  “I’m going to find her.” she said with a determined set to her shoulders.  She stepped to the side, intending to walk past Cullen again, when he grabbed at her arm.

“You can’t go up there on your own.  Maker knows what kind of demons are falling from the sky up there.”  She pulled her arm out of his grip but made no move towards the mountain, looking between it and the man in front of her.

A smirk formed on her face as she drew her longbow.  “Fine.  But you’re coming with me then.”

Cullen spluttered for a moment before regaining his composure.  “I beg your pardon?”

Marianna’s smirk grew.  “You said I can’t go alone.  But nothing is going to stop me from combing the mountain for my sister.  So I either go alone as I originally planned, or you’re coming with me so I won’t be alone.  As you _commanded_.” she added, coating the phrase with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

Before Cullen could answer, she ducked under his arm and started up the mountain.  Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed, signaling for any recovered soldiers to follow him.

“Maker’s breath”, he muttered under his breath.  “First Amell, then Hawke and now this Trevelyan girl.  I must be cursed.”

He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard a low chuckle from the archer who led the trek up the mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh I have no idea if I got Cullen's voice right, but I hope it's believable. OTL  
> But in hindsight, I'm really proud of this chapter.  
> Next is the trek up the mountain from Mari's POV, and then we meet Rhia in Chapter 4!  
> AND PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS IF YOU LIKE THIS  
> IT MAKES ME WRITE FASTER   
> UWU


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this while listening to Fearless by Thomas Bergersen. I recommend it as background music for you all who are reading this. I'd also recommend that you check out my DAI AU Music playlist on Spotify. It's under that title as a public playlist by Zhixara Bern. All the music I'll be referencing will be in that playlist for easy access.

When hunting, silence is the archer’s best friend, followed by the element of surprise.  There was nothing more satisfying than taking one’s prey before it even knew it was being hunted.  Except maybe sex.  But the thrill of the hunt came awfully close.

However, being followed by about twenty fully armed and armored warriors made for an extremely frustrating hunt.  And though she wasn't hunting animals, but shades and wraiths, it was difficult for Mari to not snap at the soldiers to be quieter.  Especially since she had pretty much welcomed them along with her after the blond haired soldier insisted that she not go alone.

The trek up the mountain thus far had been uneventful, if annoying.  Soon, the bitter wind forced Mari to fix her tousled headscarf so that only her eyes showed beneath the scarf and the hood of her cloak.  It had fallen when the blond warrior grabbed a hold of her and she tried to wriggle free of his grasp.  She’d gotten one good swipe at him while he was distracted.  She smirked remembering the look on his face.

She knew the effect she could have on men.  Mari wasn't vain, but she wasn't blind or stupid either.  Ever since she became a young woman, she knew that people started looking at her differently than before.  And she was smart enough to use it to her advantage.  The minds of men were so simple to her.  The warrior probably hadn't realized he had done so, but his jaw had slowly dropped open as he took her appearance in and that’s when she struck out and left a thin scratch along his right cheek.

Stopping for a moment, she turned to see how the soldier and his men were progressing.  Surprisingly, he was still right behind her, while the rest (probably raw recruits from the look of them) had fallen behind about fifty yards.  Silently, Mari chastised herself, remembering that many of these soldiers were probably recently wounded and healed after the tear in the sky appeared.

Starting up the mountain once again, but at a slower pace than before, Mari noted that the blond man fell in on her right side, but never once tried to outpace her.  They trekked on in silence for a few yards before another of the green blasts from the sky fell directly in front of them.

Quick as a flash, Mari drew an arrow from the quiver she had attached to her left hip and nocked it, prepared for whatever would come out of the green flames before them.  From the corner of her eye, she noted that the blond warrior had also drawn his sword and shield in the time it had taken her to prepare her arrow.  But Mari didn't have time to admire his honed reflexes and talents as two shades formed from the flames.

The warrior rushed forward as Mari stayed where she was; her arrows were always more effective from a distance anyways.  The warrior attacked the shade closest to him, attracting the attention of the second as he slashed at the creature’s head and blocked its claws.

“Good,” Mari whispered.  Shifting over to account for the movements of the warrior, she bent down, drawing her bow to full strength, breathed in, out, and loosed her arrow.  As expected, it flew straight and true into the eye of the second shade just as it was about to claw at the warrior’s unguarded right side.  It screamed once and disintegrated into dust.  Mari didn't wait, reaching for another arrow, repeating the same movements as before, sinking her second arrow into the neck of the other shade.  Distracted by the pain, the shade writhed, trying to grab for the arrow as the warrior dealt it a mortal blow.  Again, the shade screamed as it turned into nothing more than a pile of ash.

Adjusting her cloak so she could sheathe her bow, she walked over to where the first pile of ashes lay.  As she had hoped, her arrow had fallen from the creature, completely without damage.   Looking up, she saw that the warrior knelt by the other pile of ashes.  Sauntering over, she pulled the scarf off of her lower face so he could hear her easier.  “You’re not wounded, are you?” she asked, concerned that her arrow hadn't hit the shade in time.

Thankfully, the warrior shook his head.  “No, I am unharmed.  I’m merely…curious, really.”  He stood up, holding her second arrow, which was also in perfect condition.  He handed her the arrow and she sheathed both of them, ready for the next encounter.  The soldier wiped his sword on the ground, removing as much of the black blood of the shade as he could before sheathing it.  Mari turned to continue up the mountain when the soldier asked, “What are those arrows made of?  I've never seen anyone kill a shade with a single arrow before.”

“I use Elder wood for my arrows instead of ash,” Mari explained as the warrior again walked at her side.  “Ash is usually more durable and heavier than most and that’s why most archers tend to use it.  Its damage potential is the highest of any kind of shaft wood.  But its weight makes the arrows slower in flight.”  Reaching into her quiver, she pulled out two arrows and handed them to the warrior.  Pointing to one made of ash, she continued.  “You can feel the difference in weight easily when you’re holding one in each hand.”

The warrior nodded as he tested the weight of each arrow.  It was obvious to Mari that although he fought with a sword and shield, he knew enough about weaponry in general that he knew what he was doing.  “Right, so you must be waiting for me to ask ‘If the ash arrows have a higher damage potential, why did you use the elder arrow and how was it able to kill a shade in one strike?’”

Mari smirked.  “An astute and correct observation, Ser…?” she asked.

“Cullen.” he responded.  “And how shall I address you, Lady Trevelyan?”

With a derisive snort, she returned, “Mari.  And no more of that ‘Lady’ shite.  That’s my mum or my aunt.  Not me.”

Cullen cocked his head, obviously curious but not asking any questions about her reaction.  “Very well, Mari.  So why elder wood?”

“Ah right.  Back on topic.”  Mari marched forward, ducking under tree branches and stepping over stones in the path.  “Back home in Ostwick and before the time of Andraste, there were druidic people that studied the monsters of our world and of the Fade.  Most of the information they discovered still exists, though in an old dialect that is difficult to translate.  After a lot of work, I was able to discover something about how evil spirits of the Fade avoided elder trees.  And that when these druids made magical staffs out of elder wood, they caused more damage to demons than any other kind of wood.  So, I decided to try and make arrows out of elder and see if they worked.”  Seeing the forward camp just ahead of them, Mari continued speaking.

“To be honest, I had no idea that they would actually work.  It wasn't until the tear in the sky opened and a shade attacked me that I even knew they could kill certain demons, mostly wraiths and shades, with only one arrow.”  Mari shrugged and stopped at the opposite end of the bridge, waiting for the other soldiers to catch up.  Cullen signaled for her to stay where she was as he walked over to where the panicking Chantry cleric was standing.  A raven was perched on the desk and Cullen pulled a message off of its leg.  Nodding slowly, he spoke to the cleric and a few of the slower soldiers, presumably telling them to stay at the forward camp.  He then gestured for the others to follow at a distance.  Leaning against one of the supports, she looked up at Cullen as he approached, waiting for more questions.

Cullen stood, hands resting on his sword as he looked back at Mari, shaking his head slightly.  “I don’t know whether to call you brave or stupid for the risk that entailed.”

Mari rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Why does it always have to be one or the other?  Why can’t it be both?  Brave and stupid.”  She shrugged and muttered, “Maker, you sound like my sister.”  Realizing what she said, Mari stiffened and looked to see the soldiers making their way across the bridge before hurrying up the mountain again, Cullen close on her heels.

Minutes later, they came across what must have been the entrance to the Temple of Sacred Ashes.  But all that was left was a doorway and beyond it, a smoldering crater.  Shock threatened to overwhelm Mari as her knees buckled, Cullen moving to catch her before she slid down the side of the doorway.

“Maker’s breath,” she murmured as she regained her footing.  The carnage before her was indescribable.  Smoldering corpses littered the ground as far as she could see, some of them still standing or in upright poses, like they were frozen in time.  And above the massacre, the tear in the sky, the Breach she had heard others call it, pulsed with a sickly green light.

In the center of the area before her, she noticed a glimmering spot in the air.  Hopping down off the entryway, she walked towards it reaching her hand out.  As she touched that spot, she noted that the air around it was slightly greener than the rest and immediately her hand started tingling, like it was numb from being leaned on the wrong way.  Pulling her hand back out of the air, it stopped tingling instantly.  Cullen walked up behind her, “What are you doing?”

“I think this is a weakness in the Veil.  Like it’s almost torn, but it’s still holding together by a thread.”  She put her hand back in the tear and the numbness returned.  Cullen snatched her hand out of it before she could pull it back yourself.

“If it is a tear in the Veil, then you shouldn't be messing around with it.” he chastised her.  “Maker only knows what could be on the other side of it.”

Mari rolled her eyes as he let go of her hand.  “Fine, I’ll stop.  I was only curious anyhow.”  She stepped over to some roughly patched together scaffolding and leaned up against it, staring at the small rift.  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Cullen pace, keeping his hands firmly on his sword.  He stopped for a moment and turned to ask another question.

“You were so insistent about finding your sister only an hour ago.  Now you’re lounging about not doing anything.  Why?”

Mari leaned her head against the scaffolding and crossed her arms, trying to think of a way to explain.  “My sister and I are…were closer than most siblings.  As children we always knew where the other was or if we were needed by the other.  I don’t know how to explain it, but I knew I had to get up here as quickly as possible.  I assumed it was because she was up here, wounded.  But now that’s obviously not true.”

Cullen shook his head, as if he were trying to understand what Mari was saying.  “So instead of continuing to comb the mountain looking for her, you’re staying here?”

Mari nodded.  “Yeah.  I obviously had this gut feeling to get up here as quickly as possible for some reason.  And if she’s not here right now, then I’m assuming she must be coming up here at some point.”

“But you were terrified of the thought that she might be dead.  So much so, that you struck out at me.”

“And for that I sincerely apologize.” Mari continued.  “I should not have struck you.  But I told you, I would know if she were dead.  And she’s not.  So that only leaves the possibility that she’ll be coming up here at some point.  And that means I’m going to wait for her.”

“You can’t wait up here forever though.”

“I know that.  If she doesn't appear by sunset, then I’ll go back down to Haven.  Continue searching down there.”  Mari resolved, and turned her attention back to the rift.

Cullen let out an exasperated noise and turned back to his pacing.  Again, Mari’s eyes drifted over to Cullen, appraising him from afar.  He was handsome, obviously.  And a very competent warrior; his training was apparent from his quick reflexes.  He must have been a high ranked soldier in some army or other because his outfit was very different from the rest of the soldiers from Haven.  Whereas they tended to wear green and dull oranges and yellows, Cullen was resplendent in shining silver armor, accented by his red and gold overcoat.  And although he was a bit of a stick in the mud, she could tell his concern was always genuine.

Mari shook her head and let thoughts of Cullen fall by the wayside.  There was no way she was going to get involved with anything here.  She took a deep breath and reminded herself of her original plan; _get in, get Rhia, get out and go home_.  That plan hadn't changed at all since the Breach appeared, and it couldn't get complicated.

Time passed and the sun beat down on the world and the Breach continued to glow and pulse.  Every so often a ball of green flame would fall somewhere around them and Mari, Cullen and the soldiers would take down a few shades or wraiths within seconds.  Then they would go back to conversing amongst themselves or pacing or resting from their wounds.

Mari was starting to nod off when a loud crackling and popping noise drew her back to reality.  The rift she had been watching for a few hours started to change.  Cullen had stopped pacing to look at the rift as well, the other soldiers drew their weapons in fear.  The color grew in intensity, similar to the green of the Breach.  Mari stepped forward to examine it as beams of light shot out from it, startling her backwards.  Cullen raced over to where she stumbled and shielded her with his body.  She couldn't help but notice that he smelled like a mixture of metal, sweat and the faintest tang of ozone.  But the crackling of the rift grew and grew until Mari’s ears popped from the pressure building up and then released in a flash of bright green light.

She pushed her way out of Cullen’s embrace to see shades, wraiths and giant spindly terrors attacking the soldiers.  Drawing her bow and an elder arrow, she killed a shade that came after Cullen, while he was drawing his weapon.  Ducking and rolling, she shot a wraith that sent an attack her way, watching it disappear back into the rift.  Unfamiliar voices reached her ear as a female warrior started hacking away at one of the terrors and magical spells filled the air.

Mari drew another arrow and aimed at one of the terrors just as it slipped into the ground.  It popped out of the ground halfway across the battlefield, attacking and killing one of the soldiers from Haven.  Readjusting her aim, she released the arrow and it hit the terror straight in its eye.  But it didn't disintegrate like she hoped it would.  Strafing to the left, she drew another arrow and aimed it at its neck, praying to Andraste that the second arrow would kill it.  Releasing the second arrow, it flew straight and true and the terror screamed and finally disintegrated, disappearing into the rift. 

Somewhere to her right she heard another of the terrors scream, but when she turned, it was nowhere to be seen.  Just as she reached for another arrow, a green light swirled around her legs as she saw the terror pounce on her from below.  She screamed in shock and pain as she kicked out at the terror’s head, trying to roll out of the way, her hood and scarf falling off in the process.  But its claws raked at the ground to either side of her so she couldn't escape.  Grabbing at one of the daggers she kept at her hips, Mari slashed at the terror’s face.  It reached up and grabbed its face in pain and that was enough of a distraction for Mari to get out from under the creature.  But it wasn't enough for her to draw an arrow as the terror stalked towards her.  Readying her knife to throw at the monster, she drew her arm back just as the female warrior from before charged into the terror, chopping off its head with one swift strike.

Mari lowered her dagger as the female warrior looked up at her.  “Thanks,” she breathed appreciatively.  The dark haired warrior stared at her, brows bunched up in confusion.  But Mari didn't have time to ask her what was wrong because another set of popping and crackling noises permeated the air as one of the mages that had joined them closed the rift.

Mari examined the air that at one point in time had sent demons straight after them and noted that the glimmering spot that had once been there was completely gone.  Letting out a relieved sigh, Mari turned to search for her elder arrows.  She remembered that she had loosed four of them and went looking through the piles of ash around them.

Hearing Cullen’s voice, she heard him call the female warrior Cassandra and they spoke as if they were equals.  Cassandra then referred to the mage that had closed the rift as a prisoner, which was odd considering the bald elf beside the hooded ‘prisoner’ didn't seem to fall under that same title.  Turning her attention back to Cullen he told the prisoner, “I hope they’re right about you.  We lost a lot of people getting you here.”  Mari bent down to pick up two of her loosed arrows.  _Only two more to find_ she thought to herself.

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try my best.”

Mari stood up straight quick as a flash.  Moving around the prisoner’s companions, she peered at the face under the hood.  “Rhia,” she breathed as she gathered her sister into a vise-like hug, knocking the hood off her.

“Mari?” Rhiannon exclaimed.  “Mo dheirfiúr álainn!”  And then both girls burst out into tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of my inspiration for Ostwick's kind of culture and language/music/etc, comes from my love of Ireland and Irish culture so there's going to be references (ie, druids, Irish phrases, music) that allude to that specific background for how I see Ostwick. I know that a lot of other people may not see it in the same way that I do, but then again, this is my interpretation. So yeah. 
> 
> And 'mo dheirfiúr álainn' means 'my beautiful sister' in Irish. If I do have phrases like that in the story, I'll always have translations here in chapter notes.
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! I'd love to see what your reactions are to my story thus far. <333


	4. Chapter 4

_Green mist. Creatures chasing. A bright light at the end of the path. Reaching, stretching towards…_

In a flash of green light, a bolt of pain shot up Rhiannon’s arm, jolting her awake. She groaned quietly, eyes opening slowly as she looked down at her hands, trying to figure out what caused the pain. She was surprised to find shackles encircling her wrists, tight enough to impair her but not enough to chafe as she twisted her left hand to gaze at her palm. There was no obvious injury to her arm and she flexed it, testing to see if the bones and muscles were working properly.

Luckily, there was no hesitation or pain in her movements so whatever woke her couldn’t have come from an internal injury. Rhia sighed in relief just as another burst of green light pulsed from her hand and shot another bolt of pain up her arm. She gasped in pain, as well as shock. Looking up from her hand, she noticed she knelt on the ground of some enclosed space. But what really bothered her were the soldiers who stood around, pointing drawn swords at her. Confused, she turned to ask the soldiers why she was chained, but before she could open her mouth to speak the door in front of her slammed open.

Turning her attention to the women who entered, she closed her mouth, lest she look like a fish gasping for air. One was hooded and walked to stand in front of her. Rhia couldn’t discern too much about her other than she knew just from the way she stood and her guarded expression, she was dangerous. She turned her attention to the other and her heart stopped when she saw the Eye of the Seekers upon the woman’s armor. Panicking, Rhia tried to remember what happened to get her into this situation, but try as she might, there were gaps in her memory she could not explain.

The Seeker kept circling Rhia and leaned over her left ear. “Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now,” she threatened. Rhia could hear the barely contained anger in her voice, but was completely confused as to why this warrior was threatening her. But before she could get a word in edgewise, the Seeker continued. “The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you.” The Seeker finished her circling and turned to face Rhia, the scars on the warrior’s face catching the light and making her look even more intimidating.

Moments later, the words the Seeker spoke sunk in. “Wait, what do you mean everyone is dead?” Rhia asked. “I don’t understand.” Everyone at the Conclave. Dead. Rhia’s breath hitched, thinking of the men and women she had befriended in the days before the Conclave. She hadn’t known them well, but she began to think of a few of them as people she could trust; and those were rare people to find in these dark days.

The Seeker reached down and grabbed Rhia’s arm that continued its painful green sparking, lifting it to eye level. Venom dripped from her voice as she seethed, “Explain this.”

Rhia’s eyes widened, panicking. “I…can’t.” she was able to get out as the Seeker threw her arm down in disgust.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I don’t know what that is.” Rhia’s voice rose in pitch in heightened panic. “Or how it got there,” she added in an afterthought. _Maker, they think I destroyed the Conclave and everyone there_ , she thought to herself.

Apparently, not knowing what had happened to her was the wrong answer as the Seeker’s calm vanished. The warrior reached down and grabbed Rhia’s tunic by the collar, screaming in her face, “You’re lying!”

Rhia’s magic flowed to the surface in instinct, but she tamped it down before she could do any more damage to her reputation. It wouldn’t do anything to help her situation if she set the Seeker on fire. Luckily, the hooded woman pulled the Seeker away before she could hurt Rhia. “We need her, Cassandra.” The Seeker, Cassandra, nodded and backed away.

Rhia’s breathing still hadn’t slowed as her mind raced through the implications of what was happening. “Maker, I can’t believe it. All those people…they’re dead?” Tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes, but she pushed them away. Now was not the time for tears. “So, what happens now?”

The hooded woman now stood before her. “Do you remember what happened? How this began?” she asked.

Rhia racked her mind for the memories, but only moments, flashes would come. She hesitated slightly before answering. “I remember running. Things were chasing me. And then…there was a woman.”

“A woman?” the hooded female asked. Rhia noted that she almost sounded surprised, her Orlesian accent bleeding through.

“She was reaching for me and I for her,” she continued. “But then…” she hesitated, her mind drawing a blank on what happened next.

The Seeker turned to the hooded woman, “Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift.” Leliana nodded and left the room, silent as a cat.

Cassandra turned sharply towards Rhia and she jumped slightly, thinking the Seeker was going to hurt her. Instead, she knelt down and began to remove the shackles from her wrists, replacing them with a length of rope. She worked silently, and Rhia risked asking, “What did happen?”

Rhia and the Seeker’s eyes truly met for the first time, as if the warrior was measuring the mage up. Grabbing her by her upper arm, she helped Rhia to her feet, hesitating. “It…will be easier to show you.” She turned and left the room, motioning for her to follow. Walking slowly and keeping her head down, Rhia tried to make herself look unintimidating and compliant, avoiding the gaze of the warriors that had kept her guarded for Maker knows how long.

Cassandra walked in silence, leading Rhia down a hallway and up a set of stairs. Passing through the doors, Rhia realized they were in a Chantry. Most likely the one in Haven, though she had never set foot in the town’s religious hall before. Cassandra stopped for only a moment to pick up a shield that bore the same symbol that was on her armor, before opening the doors of the Chantry to the mountain town of Haven.

Rhia remembered this town being quiet and quaint. The villagers kept to themselves and allowed pilgrims to pass through constantly, so the representatives for the Conclave weren’t something that was abnormal for them. But as she passed through the doors, she heard not the noises of calm townsfolk going about their daily lives, but screams and the ruckus of panicked and raised voices. In the distance, she could also hear sounds of blades ringing as if a battle were raging.

A flash of green light to her left brought her attention to the sky and as she looked up, her jaw dropped in shock. A tear in the Veil circled over the mountains, just above where the Temple of Sacred Ashes once stood.

“We call it the Breach,” Cassandra spoke. Rhia tore her eyes away from the eerie eldritch apparition in the sky to look at the Seeker. “It’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour.” She turned to face Rhia as she continued. “It’s not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave.”

Rhia almost let out a strained laugh. The idea was almost ludicrous to her. “An explosion can do that?”

“This one did,” Cassandra said as she walked towards her. “And unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world.”

Just then, a deep rumble and a loud crack came from the Breach as it pulsed in the sky, growing larger as they looked upon it. Moments later, the green light appeared again on Rhia’s hand, almost like it was responding to the pulsing of the Breach. This pulse was more painful than the last and Rhia cried out in pain, falling to her knees in shock. Cassandra moved quickly, kneeling right in front of Rhia, continuing to try and explain the situation to her.

“Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads. And it is killing you,” she said bluntly, but not without a hint of compassion. “It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn’t much time.”

Rhia shook her head incredulously. “You say it may be the key, but the key to doing what?” she asked.

“Closing the Breach. Whether that’s possible is something we shall discover shortly.” Cassandra said succinctly. “It is our only chance, however. And yours.”

“My chance?” Rhia asked, still trying to put the pieces together in her head. “Wait, you still think I did this? To myself?”

“Not intentionally. Something clearly went wrong.”

“And if I’m _not_ responsible?”

“Someone is, and now you are our only suspect. You wish to prove your innocence? This is the only way,” Cassandra said bluntly.

Rhia weighed the possibilities in her mind. If she ran, she wouldn’t get far, and the mark on her hand would probably kill her if she did manage to make it out of Haven. If she stayed, there was always the possibility that someone would continue to blame her for the explosion or just attack her for being a mage. But if she stayed, she could get more answers, especially regarding the holes in her memory.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I understand.”

She opened them in time to see Cassandra’s hardened expression falter for a moment. “Then…”

“I’ll do what I can. Whatever it takes,” Rhia declared, her voice shaking slightly from fear and the residual pain of the mark on her hand. _Maker save me_ she silently implored.

Though she could see no perceptible change in Cassandra’s expression, she knew that the woman had begun to regard her with some respect. That slight respect, however, didn’t stop Cassandra from hauling Rhia up from her kneeling position by the back of her tunic. She guided Rhia forward with a strong, but not rough hand on her back.

It was then that Rhia noted the townspeople interspersed with soldiers in unfamiliar colors throughout the town. All of them looked at her with fear and suspicion in their eyes. A few of the braver ones hurled insults at her from a distance.

“They have decided your guilt,” Cassandra explained unprompted. “They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, Head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers.” Rhia noted that though her words seemed scripted, the emotion of loss in her voice was genuine. _She must have known Justinia well_ , Rhia thought. Cassandra continued on.

“It was a chance for peace between mages and Templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead.”

Rhia nodded. “I know. I was there as a representative of the Circle at Ostwick. My family has ties to the Chantry, so First Enchanter Galia thought a mage with noble ties would best suit the interests of our Circle.” She sighed as she continued. “I was gone less than a month when I received word that Galia had been murdered by the Libertarians and our Circle was dissolved. She didn’t deserve her fate.”

Cassandra looked at her with what almost seemed to be pity. “She must have been a good woman.”

“The best.” Rhia said with no hesitation. “She was my mentor; a mother figure, as much as she could be. And wiser than most. She was able to keep the peace with our Templars, for the most part.”

Cassandra nodded knowingly. “We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves. As Enchanter Galia did. And as Justinia did. Until the Breach is sealed.”

Haven proper was far behind them now and they stood upon a bridge enclosed by gates on both sides. Rhia looked up at the Breach again, terror freezing her in place. “Maker save us all,” she muttered.

Moments later she heard the rasping noise of metal being unsheathed which drew her attention away from the giant hole in the sky. Cassandra had pulled out a simple dagger and stood in front of Rhia. Taking her bound wrists in one hand, she started sawing at the ropes. “There will be a trial. I can promise no more.”

Rhia nodded, slowly starting to accept her fate as a prisoner for the rest of her days, however long or short that length of time may be.

Cassandra finished releasing her. “Come, it is not far.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach,” she replied simply.

“Oh. Right.” Rhia stepped forward, heading towards the end of the bridge with growing trepidation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God. I am so sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter posted. I could use the excuses of a promotion at work and general procrastination but that would be lazy. But I will say this; I've never finished a fourth chapter to any of my other works of fiction or fanfic ever, so this is a bit of a milestone for me. I'm gonna try to keep updating on a regular basis. With summer coming, work should be slowing down so I may be able to get some writing done during downtime there.
> 
> I also apologize that a large majority of this chapter is taken directly from the game dialogue. But I did add some personal information about Rhia's background in this chapter. Hopefully, Chapter 5 will come up a lot quicker than this one did.
> 
> Also, I have a playlist of music on my Spotify (listed publicly as DAI AU Music by Zhixara Bern) and it has a lot of music that I listen to (and will later reference in the story as my characters are musicians as well). I'm going to edit some notes in earlier chapters to reference music that inspired me in that chapter and what I heard in my head while writing it.
> 
> And as always, please leave kudos and comments! It helps me to focus when I know people are waiting on my story.


	5. Chapter 5

Rhia gazed with trepidation at the Breach then looked to Cassandra for guidance.  Cassandra called to the guards at the other end of the bridge, “Open the gate!  We are heading into the valley!”  Looking over, Rhia saw the far gate open slowly and Cassandra began a light jog, Rhia following quickly behind.

The path up the mountain was strewn with flaming debris and fleeing soldiers she had to dodge every few meters.  Halfway up the path, the Breach pulsed again and the answering pulse in her hand struck like lightning travelling up her arm.  The pain caused her to collapse again, falling to her knees in the snow.  Part of her wanted to give up and lay in the snow, waiting for the pain to take over completely.  But Cassandra was beside her again, taking her by the elbow to help her stand.  She didn’t smile at Rhia, but she clapped her on the shoulder in a moment of solidarity.  “The pulses are coming faster now,” she said before letting go.

Rhia took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.  If the Seeker believed Rhia could make it, then she would fight through the pain as much as she could.  She began jogging again, this time with Cassandra by her side.  Cassandra continued speaking, explaining what little she knew of the Breach and the demons it spewed forth from its gaping maw. 

One thing bothered Rhia as Cassandra talked. “How did I survive the blast?   No one else did.  Not even Justinia, so why me?”

“I do not know.  The soldiers that found you…they say you…stepped out of a rift.  Then fell unconscious.  They say a woman was in the rift behind you.  No one knows who she was.”

Cassandra continued speaking but it was drowned out by a blast of green fire that fell from the Breach striking the bridge just in front of Rhia.  She screamed in shock as she jumped back, but not far enough.  The ancient bridge collapsed beneath her and Cassandra, cutting them off from the soldiers in front of them.  They fell, landing on the rubble and rolling with the momentum.  When their fall came to an end, Rhia lay on her back, assessing any possible damage. 

As she breathed in deeply, a bright pain blossomed along her side.  Rhia hissed in pain, realizing she had a cracked rib.  With a concentrated burst of mana, she healed herself as quickly as possible.  She couldn’t be useless for the rest of the trek up the mountain and she wouldn’t hold Cassandra back.  Luckily, her training at the Ostwick Circle of Magi had covered the special aspect of spirit healing.  She’d always had a talent for healing magic ever since she’d come into her magical abilities when she was younger.  Luckily it was only the cracked rib, so she had plenty of mana to face whatever came next.

Moments later, she felt vibrations in the ground as a green flame-wreathed shade materialized just yards in front of the two of them.  Both women jumped up, but Cassandra reacted quicker.  “Stay behind me!” she yelled as she rushed forward, her sword and shield in hand.

But as she ran up, Cassandra didn’t notice the swirling of green demonic energy that appeared in front of Rhia.  Panic started to rise in her mind.  She could handle a shade without the help of a staff, but having one would help focus her mana if nothing else.  Casting a searching glance around, she saw a staff laying in a pile of other weapons that must have fallen with the rubble.  She rushed towards it, feeling the weight of it in her palm.  It wasn’t the staff she had brought with her to the conclave, but it would do for now.  Turning quickly, she faced the new shade, not five feet in front of her, its gray and hooded appearance staring straight at her with depthless eyes.

She breathed in, concentrating on her mana and drew upon it, casting an immolation spell.  The shade screeched inhumanly as flames took hold of it from the inside out.  She quickly moved into the stave movements that had been ingrained into her since the beginning of her training at the Circle of Magi.  Groaning inwardly, she realized the stave she was using channeled ice magic.  Fire magic had always come as easily to her as spirit healing since fire was how her magic had originally manifested; ice magic was more difficult for her.  Soon after the flames went out, the shade screamed once more and disintegrated into green flame and ash.  Rhia turned to attack the first shade but it too disintegrated quickly under Cassandra’s fierce blows.

She sighed in relief, glancing over their little battlefield.  “It’s over.”   Looking up to Cassandra, she saw the Seeker advance towards her, the sword in her hand pointed at Rhia’s throat.

“Drop your weapon!” the swordswoman commanded.  “NOW!”

“Alright, have it your way.  I’ll disarm,” she said as placating as she could, holding one hand out in surrender.  _Though technically I don’t even need a staff to cast spells_ , she thought to herself.  She bent down to drop the staff onto the frozen water beneath her feet, keeping her eyes on Cassandra’s sword the whole time.  Before she let go of her weapon, Cassandra’s face softened. 

“Wait,” she said, sheathing her sword.  Rhia stopped moving, never taking her eyes off Cassandra.

She sighed, obviously frustrated.  “I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to be defenseless.” She walked back towards the mountain path, but stopped and turned to Rhia.  “I should remember you agreed to come willingly.”

Rhia breathed a sigh of relief and stood back up, sheathing the borrowed staff.  “I appreciate that, Lady Seeker.”  She continued forward along the frozen river, Cassandra handing her a few vials as she passed.  Downing one, she felt more energized and ready to face whatever crossed her path.  “Where are all your soldiers?” she asked, stopping by a corpse of one that must have died in the blast to the bridge.

“At the forward camp,” Cassandra stated.   “Or fighting,” she added as an afterthought.  “Either way, we are on our own for now.”  She stood by as Rhia found a suitable hood to shield her face from the brutal Ferelden wind.   _It was never this cold back home_ , she thought, huffing slightly as the wind blew across her face again.

She and Cassandra continued on, taking on shades and wraiths as they materialized in front of them.  For being as prickly as she was, the Seeker worked well in tandem with the quiescent mage.  Soon they reached a path carved into the side of the mountain, stone steps leading up.  Rhia bounded up the steps as fast as she could, taking them by twos when her long legs could reach.

“We’re getting close to the rift.  You can hear the fighting,” Cassandra called after her, running up the steps, not too far behind her.

Rhia turned her head to ask, “Who’s fighting?” while never slowing her steps.

“You’ll see soon.  We must help them.”

They reached the top of the path and saw flames and rubble strewn across the clearing.  In the distance, Rhia saw a small group of soldiers accompanied by a mage, and a dwarf that wielded a crossbow, all of them fighting off a small group of shades and wraiths.  Behind them, a tear in the Fade pulsated in the frosty air.  It was not as big as the breach in the sky, but a big enough to allow demons to pass through unimpeded.  She saw one of the soldiers fall and immediately jumped down into the fray, fire and ice magic intermingling with the clash of swords and the dull heavy _thunk_ of the crossbow every few seconds adding a percussive beat to their battle dance.

Soon enough the skirmish ended.  But the rift in the air before her still shimmered an eerie green. 

The other mage, a male elf, rushed to her side, grabbing the arm that possessed the glowing green mark.  “Quickly!  Before more come through!” he shouted.  Pulling at her arm roughly, he raised it to where her palm was directly in front of the rift.  The electric burn she had felt earlier coursed through her arm again, but this time the pain was lessened and a green beam shot from her palm connecting to the rift.  Rhia gritted her teeth, keeping the connection as long as she could.  The sound the rift made as it closed was grating and grew louder every second.  Then all of a sudden, there was a complete absence of sound, followed by a loud pop and small explosion as the rift closed for good.

Rhia gasped in relief as the electricity in her veins stopped, her palm still tingling from the connection to the rift.  She pulled her arm out of the mage’s grasp, stepping back away from him.  “What did you do?” she asked, a touch of fear invading her otherwise calm voice.

“I did nothing.  The credit is yours.” The elven mage gestured towards her.

“At least this thing is good for something,” she muttered under her breath, glancing at her now slightly numb hand.

“Whatever opened the breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand.  I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the breach’s wake.”  Smugly, he looked to Cassandra.  “And it seems I was correct.”

“Meaning it could also close the breach itself,” Cassandra finished as she walked up next to Rhia.

The mage nodded slightly, still looking at Cassandra.  “Possibly.”  He turned back to Rhia, seeming to measure her up as she stood before him.  “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.”  Rhia wasn’t sure if there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone or not.  This mage was unlike any she had ever known; he had a mysterious air about him.  Rhia was intrigued and opened her mouth to ask a question when she was interrupted by the dwarven archer.

“Good to know!  Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever.”  Now that was sarcasm for sure. 

Rhia held back a laugh, thinking of how her sister would have reacted the same way.  _Maker forbid that Mari ever meet this dwarf_ , she thought to herself.  Thinking of her sister, however, immediately sobered her up.  It had been just under eight years since she had even seen her sister, much less written to her.  She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the memories that began to resurface after years of trying to forget.  She turned her attention back to the dwarf, who had introduced himself as Varric while her memories had threatened to overwhelm her, as he winked at Cassandra.  She hadn’t caught all of his introduction, but he presumably knew the Seeker in some way.

“Are you with the Chantry, then?” she asked.  Then she immediately felt like an idiot.  _Why would a dwarf be a member of the Chantry?_

The elven mage chuckled behind her.  “Was that a serious question?”  Rhia colored slightly in embarrassment, but the dwarf seemed to take the situation in stride.

“Technically, I’m a prisoner.  Just like you.”

Cassandra interjected, “I brought you here so you could tell your story to the Divine.  Clearly that is no longer necessary.”  The sharp tinge of anger was back in her voice again.  Cassandra and Varric obviously had past bad blood between them.

“Yet, here I am.  Lucky for you, considering current events.”  Sarcasm filled his voice and Rhia decided it was time to attempt to defuse the situation before it came to blows.

“It’s good to meet you Varric.  My name is Rhiannon Trevelyan, but please just call me Rhia.  Otherwise, it’s a bit of a mouthful.”  She smiled to ease the tension.

“You may reconsider that stance, in time,” the elven mage slid in before Varric could say anything. 

“Aww, I’m sure we’ll become great friends in the valley, Chuckles.”  Apparently the dwarf had a knack for witty one liners too.

But Cassandra was having none of it.  Advancing towards the dwarf she spoke in a short clipped tone.  “Absolutely not.  Your help is appreciated Varric, but –“He interrupted before she could finish.

“Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker?  Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore.  You need me.”  Obviously Rhia hadn’t soothed the situation with her introduction before and hoped the Seeker wouldn’t take off Varric’s head as she seemed like to do.  Luckily, Varric had made his point as Cassandra turned away, giving a disgusted noise as she stepped away from the dwarf.  If Rhia was a betting woman, she would guess that Cassandra was probably attempting to avoid the temptation of hitting him.

“My name is Solas if there are to be introductions,” the elven mage stated as he walked up behind Rhia.  “I am pleased to see you still live.”  Rhia made a confused face and cocked her head slightly, unsure as to what Solas meant.  Varric saw her confusion and decided to clear the air.

“He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.’”

Rhia’s turned back to Solas, curious about what the mage knew.  “You seem to know a great deal about it all: the breach, rifts, my hand…how is it you know so much?”

“Solas is an apostate, well versed in such matters,” Cassandra said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Technically, _all_ mages are apostates now, Cassandra,” Solas stated without ire.  “My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage.  I came to offer whatever help I can give with the breach.  If it is not closed, we are all doomed, regardless of origin.”

Rhia nodded, even though the jab at Circle mages made her bristle slightly.  “Then I owe you my thanks, Solas, for keeping me alive.  And it’s a commendable attitude you have towards this whole situation.”

“Thank me if we manage to close the breach without killing you in the process.  And it is merely a sensible attitude.  Although sense seems to be in short supply right now.”  Solas smiled gently at Rhia, then turned to Cassandra.

“Cassandra, you should know the magic involved here is unlike any I have seen.  Your prisoner is a mage, but I find it difficult to imagine _any_ mage having such power.”

She nodded, “Understood.  We must get to the forward camp, quickly.”  Cassandra and Solas took the lead down the mountain path while Varric stood beside Rhia. 

“Well, Bianca’s excited!” he said, shrugging slightly.

Rhia again fell into a confused state.  “Who’s Bianca?” she asked as they hopped over the barrier to the lower path.  The only answer she got in return was the dwarf patting his crossbow.  _He named his crossbow?  Thank the Maker Mari nev-_ Blinking herself back to the present, she cut off that thought before emotions could begin to overwhelm her again.  Breathing deeply, she set off at a light jog attempting to catch Cassandra and Solas.

At the base of the path, they came across a larger group of demons and made quick work of them.  Cassandra called out positions and attack formations, being the natural leader among them.  Rhia found that she could follow the Seeker’s orders just as well as the other two in their small party.  Once the fight was done, Varric asked Rhia, “Your accent is Marcher, isn’t it?  But you’re not from Kirkwall.  Somewhere further east, am I right?”

Rhia nodded.  “Your ears do you credit.  I’m from Ostwick.”

“Ah, I knew that slight lilt in your accent sounded similar.” Varric nodded slightly.  “Had a friend back in Kirkwall who was from Starkhaven.  He had more of a brogue to his voice, though I believe both cities have a similar root in language.”

She stopped and looked at the dwarf with a more discerning eye.  “Gallic.  There’s three dialects; the one from Starkhaven, the one from Ostwick, and a lesser known version that’s not spoken much anymore.  Right now, it’s mostly just a written language that was used by the druids that followed pagan beliefs before Andraste’s rise to power.  If I remember right, it’s called ‘Cymraeg’.”  The mark on her hand chose that moment to begin sparking and fizzing again; the lightning jolt shocking her into silence once more.

Across the lake, there was another path up the mountain, this one steeper than the last.  Rhia slowed her jog into a brisk walk, saving her energy for the fights she knew were ahead.  “So are you innocent?” she heard the dwarf ask from behind her.  Apparently he couldn’t keep quiet for longer than a minute.  _Adrian would like him too,_ she thought.

“I don’t remember what happened,” she answered, exasperated.  “Everyone wants to know what happened and I have no idea, so please don’t ask me again.”

“That’ll get you every time.  Should have spun a story,” he continued. 

“That’s what you would have done,” Cassandra stated.

“It’s more believable,” Varric insisted.  “And less prone to result in a premature execution.”

Luckily, or unluckily, a new wave of shades attacked them at that moment, forcing Rhia’s companions to save their energy for fighting.   Once the demons were dead, Cassandra was the first to speak.

“I hope Leliana made it through all this.”

“She’s resourceful, Seeker,” Varric assured her.

“We will see for ourselves at the forward camp.  We’re almost there,” Solas added.

Rhia kept quiet, the tingling in her hand growing stronger as they reached the forward camp, a small rift glowing in front of a barred door.  Again, the party made short work of the demons and Rhia closed the rift.  It was easier this time, though it still hurt tremendously to stay connected to it.  She heard her companions speak, but couldn’t focus on their words.  All she could focus on was putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.

The forward camp wasn’t much more than just a few soldiers, tents, and supplies on a bridge just in front of the source of the breach.  A Chantry cleric had started an argument with Cassandra and Leliana.  Rhia was barely paying attention.  Her mind was far more focused on the breach and what she would find there.  At a break in the argument, Rhia interjected, “Isn’t closing the Breach the more pressing issue?”

“YOU brought this on us in the first place!” the cleric screamed at her.  Rhia had to fight to keep her hand from bringing forth flames and throwing them in his face. 

Varric nudged her slightly, nodding towards her sparking hand.  “Not now, Firefly,” he muttered.

Rhia nodded and breathed deeply as Cassandra and the cleric continued to argue.  Another pulse from the breach silenced everyone as Rhia’s hand glowed and sparked, the pain still sharp as ever, but she kept silent, lest the cleric bitch at her again.

Cassandra looked to her and asked, “How do you think we should proceed?”

“Now you’re asking for my opinion?”  Rhia wasn’t usually one to get angry, but with the breach in the sky, the mark on her hand slowly killing her, and the cleric’s constant anger, her nerves were frayed beyond her patience.

“You have the mark,” said Solas.

Cassandra added, “We cannot decide what to do, so we leave it in your hands.”

Rhia thought for a few moments.  Then, “I say we charge.  I won’t survive long enough for your trial.”  She nearly spat in the cleric’s face as she headed down the bridge towards the breach.  “Whatever happens, happens now.”

She heard Cassandra giving orders behind her and then footsteps as she jogged to catch up.  The path up this part of the mountain was even steeper than the others.  She became winded as she walked up, but something kept driving her onwards when before she would have stopped to catch her breath.  She thought it was the mark, or what she would find when she stood below the breach.  But some deeper part of her said it was neither of those things.

Finally they reached the summit.  As they ran towards the broken Temple of Sacred Ashes, another boom rocked the sky.  Green lights spewed out from the breach, one hitting just in front of them, killing a soldier on impact.  Rhia and her companions raced up the stairs, drawing their weapons just as they saw a group of soldiers fighting demons pouring out from another rift.  There were, however, two among the warriors that were not as green as the others.  One was a blond male warrior that Rhia saw to be a Templar, or possibly a former Templar.  The other was an archer that moved with an almost familiar grace, but the way they drew their bow was odd.  Their drawing hand was turned backwards, the inside of their wrist exposed, rather than the back.  Rhia had never seen anyone draw a bow like that before. 

But before she could muse on the odd archer any more, she was set upon by a shade, its claws attempting to slice into her face.  She ducked and dodged the claws, casting an immolation spell before it could get close to her again.  The shade shrieked and disintegrated as the flames took hold of it, but Rhia had already moved on to aiming at the tall spindly creature that was attempting to attack Varric.

A loud shriek like a banshee of Gallic legend pierced the air as she saw the archer pinned by one of the gangly terrors.  A panic rose in her throat but she didn’t know why.  She was sure she had seen this archer before, but she didn’t recognize anything specific about them.  Cassandra ended up running over to the fallen archer so Rhia turned her focus back to the terror attacking Varric.  Once the last fell, Rhia ran up and forced the rift closed. 

Solas found his way to her, a note of pride in his voice.  “Sealed, as before.  You’re becoming quite proficient at this.”

“Let’s hope it works on the big one,” Varric countered.

“Lady Cassandra,” a new voice spoke.  Rhia turned to see the Templar soldier speaking with the Seeker about the rift.  Cassandra gestured to her, saying she was the one who closed the rift.  “I hope they’re right about you.  We lost a lot of people getting you here,” he said.

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try my best,” Rhia promised.

She heard a small gasp come from behind her and she turned her head slightly to see the archer from before almost tackle her in a crushing hug.  But it was just enough to see that the archer was her own younger sister, Marianna.  Wrapping her arms around her sister, she murmured “Mo dheirfiúr álainn!” and the emotions she had been holding back for hours poured out of her in waterfalls of tears.

Once Rhia could breathe normally again, she pulled out of Mari’s embrace, still holding her sister’s arms.  “What are you doing here?”

“Máthair heard about you going to the conclave.  I’m to bring you back home, Rhi,” Mari explained. 

Rhia laughed bitterly.  “Mari, I don’t think I’m going home anytime soon.  You heard what they called me; I’m a prisoner.  And apparently this…this _thing_ on my hand,” she waved it around for emphasis, the slight green crackle right in front of Mari’s face before continuing, “is apparently killing me.  I doubt I’d survive a trip back down the mountain with the way this damned breach is growing.”

Mari’s mouth dropped open, before whispering, “Rhi, máthair…when you were taken to the Circle, she got sick.  Like Uncle Adrian when Aunt Nadia and Crawford passed.  She’s been getting worse lately and the stress of this whole mage and Templar conflict…Rhia, it’s killing her.  I have to bring you home.  Losing you…she wouldn’t survive the news.”

It was Rhia’s turn to lose her powers of speech.  “Mari…I-“

The blond Templar interrupted, “Pardon me but, Lady Trevelyan?”

Mari rolled her eyes and turned saying, “It’s Mari, Ser Cullen” at the same moment Rhia looked up at him and said “Yes?”

Cassandra and Cullen both finally got a clear view of both girls’ faces.  “Maker’s breath,” Cullen muttered.  Cassandra didn’t say anything, but just kept staring at the identical twins.

~~~~~

Mari sighed and rolled her eyes again.  “Yes, we are twins.  Yes, we are completely identical.  How do you tell us apart?  One of us shoots arrows, the other, fireballs.  Any questions?”

Rhia nudged Mari.  “We don’t have time for questions.  The breach has to be closed.  Now.  Questions can come later.  After the breach is sealed”

Cullen recovered from his shock and turned to Cassandra.  “The way ahead is clear.  Leliana will try to meet you there.”

Cassandra nodded and spoke to the twins, Solas, and Varric.  “Then we’d best move quickly.”  Turning back to Cullen, she added, “Give us time Commander.”

“Maker watch over you, for all our sakes,” he intoned as he hurried to help a wounded soldier back to the makeshift medical area outside the Temple.

Mari watched as he walked away, then turned to Cassandra.  “What did you mean by ‘Commander’?”

“Commander Cullen is the leader of our forces.  I am not surprised he said nothing about it.  He is not the type of man to…laud his own praises.  Unlike others among us.”  Cassandra glared at Varric pointedly.

The two mages, warrior and rogue turned to head towards the epicenter of the blast with Mari trailing behind.  Rhia and the others dropped down and as Mari bent down to join them, Rhia grabbed at her wrist.  “You don’t need to come.  We can handle this without you.” she whispered.

Mari scoffed.  “You think that after coming all this way to find you that I’m just going to let you walk away?  Possibly to your death?  And not do everything in my power to keep you alive so I can bring you home like mum told me to?”  She slid down to stand face to face with her sister.  “Eight years hasn’t changed me that much.  I’m still a…how did you put it so delicately all those years ago?” she mocked, thinking hard for a moment before continuing.  “Oh yes, a stubborn bitch that doesn’t know when to quit.”

Rhia backed off, hands held up in surrender.  “Fine.  Do what you want.  You always have.”

The girls walked in silence towards the breach as their companions, introduced themselves as Solas and Varric to Mari.  Two mages, a Seeker of Truth, a dwarf with a semi-automatic crossbow and an archer with a bum wrist walk into a recently blown up Chantry temple.  Mari could only wonder what the punch line would be.

The dwarf spoke and drew Mari out of her odd stream of thoughts.  “The breach is a long way up.”  Mari looked up and nodded.  Standing beneath it, it was far larger than she thought it would be.  But then again, it kept growing by the minute. 

“You’re here!  Thank the Maker!” a female voice tinged with an Orlesian accent called from behind them.  Mari turned to see a hooded archer hurrying towards them.  She supposed this must be the Leliana that Cullen mentioned before.  She and Cassandra conversed for a moment, then she went back to the soldiers she had brought with her.

Cassandra turned to Rhia.  “This is your chance to end this.  Are you ready?”

“I’ll try but I don’t even know if I can reach it.  Much less close it,” Rhia responded.

“If you’ve got a free catapult or trebuchet, that could help,” Mari suggested.

“Not the time for jokes, Mar.” Rhia muttered. 

Mari only shrugged in response.  She walked off on her own, letting Rhia’s motley little crew discuss tactics.  She knew that if they attempted to close this rift, there would be a demon or demons pouring out of it, just like the smaller rift they had just closed.  Finding a small outcropping, Mari positioned herself, waiting for Rhia and the others to get into position.  Suddenly, a loud deep voice started speaking, echoing all around the crater. 

When Rhia hit the ground, a vision started to form, showing Rhia, a tall shadowy figure, and possibly the moment right before the Temple of Sacred Ashes went tits up.  The vision ended as quickly as it began and Mari could hear echoes of Cassandra yelling (which seemed to be her usual volume) and Solas explaining the more detailed elements of closing the breach.  Mari watched as Rhia opened the rift, noting that the connection to the rift caused an element of pain in Rhia.  Moments later, Mari cursed vehemently when a fucking demon of Pride flew out of the breach. 

She did what she could, but Pride demons were particularly difficult to take down.  So she ended up focusing on the shades that slipped through the Veil when the other soldiers and Rhia had their backs turned, allowing them to focus all their energy on fighting the demon.   However, her elder wood arrows ran out sooner than she expected.  Sheathing her bow, Mari grabbed at the edge of the outcropping with her right hand, dangling for a moment before making sure to land most of her weight on her right leg before rolling to cushion the rest of her fall.

Grabbing at her bow, she rushed towards the tell-tale piles of ash where the shades had fallen, picking up and sheathing arrows as she went.  The Pride demon was beginning to falter, but was still extremely dangerous.  Nocking an arrow, Mari aimed and shot for one of the multiple eyes, hitting her target perfectly.  The demon roared and whipped bolts of electric energy towards Mari.  She tried to duck and roll out of the way, but the tip of one of the whips hit her left leg, paralyzing it for a moment.

She cursed, rolling away again, dragging her nearly useless leg behind her.  Hiding behind the pillar in the center of the crater, she pulled her numb leg under her so she was kneeling on her left leg.  Drawing another arrow, she aimed and shot into another eye, ducking back behind the pillar before she could see if the arrow hit or not.  From the roar the demon vocalized, it seemed like it might have hit its mark.  Shortly afterwards, she heard Cassandra scream, “NOW!  CLOSE THE BREACH!  DO IT!”

Peeking her head from behind the pillar, she saw Rhia with her glowing palm shooting a beam of light into the base of the breach.  It seemed like forever that Rhia was connected to it, but suddenly the popping noises stopped and then the rift to the breach exploded in a blast of green mist and smoke, the shockwave knocking everybody back.  Mari tried to cover her head, but the blast happened too quickly for her to move her hands.  It blew her back towards her original outcropping, her head hit a rock and the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to all of you who are still reading this and waiting patiently for each of these chapters. I'm so horrible at keeping to some semblance of a schedule or any kind of regularity with which I write, so I really do appreciate all of you who stick around to read this.
> 
> So for my own version of Ostwick, I've pretty much equated it to Ireland, so you'll be seeing quite a few Celtic references through my story. And Gallic is basically Gaelic, so we have Scottish (Starkhaven), Irish (Ostwick) and Welsh (druidic language) as parallels to our world.
> 
> Again, if you like this story, please share it around, write some comments (kudos are always welcome too). And I'll try (though no promises) to get another chapter up by the end of September. 
> 
> Lots of love!!! <3


	6. Not an actual chapter - but some news for you guys!

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading Angel With A Longbow thus far. I really appreciate it.

So I've been doing a lot of thinking and basically Chapters 1-4 were posted without having someone beta for me. Chapter 5 was beta'ed by one of my best friends and I feel like that chapter went a lot more smoothly when I had her comments and additions and questions and so forth. So I'm re-doing Chapters 1-4 and having her beta those for me and then I'll re-upload them. 

I've already reworked Chapters 1 and 2 and basically merged them into one longer chapter so that hopefully the rest of my story will have chapters close to the same length and not vary too much in their length. Since it's currently 3 in the morning and I have to work tomorrow, I'll start reworking on Chapters 3 and 4 and send those off to my beta and whenever she gets back to me with her comments/edits, I'll be republishing them ASAP. There will be a few new details and changes in wording, but nothing extremely significant (other than 1 and 2 merging) so you don't have to read the updated chapters when they come up.

I haven't written anything down for Chapter 6 yet, (it'll be published as Chapter 5 however), but I have the basic ideas in my head; it's actually writing them down that's the difficult part. So if I'm lucky, the new chapter will be up within a few weeks, as well as the updates for Chapters 1-4 so the story will be a lot more cohesive by that time.

Thank you for all the kudos and comments and support. Please subscribe so you won't miss an update!!

Lots of love,

Singergurl91


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